Speaking the truth
National
Archdiocese of Hobart’s publication The Catholic Standard has won the top award at the 2023 Australasian Catholic Press Association (ACPA) Awards, held last month in Perth, Western Australia.
The 12-page monthly newspaper, produced by a small team within the Archdiocese of Hobart, received the trophy for the Bishop Kennedy Award for Overall Excellence in a Catholic publication at the ACPA annual awards dinner on September 7.
The Southern Cross newspaper received three awards: Lindy McNamara was highly commended for her stories in the categories of Faith Formation and Climate and Environment, and Russell Millard’s front page photo of Indigenous leader John Lochowiak was highly commended in the Original Photography category.
The awards recognise excellence in Catholic media across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. It was the final event of the annual ACPA Conference, which attracted more than 50 Catholic media and communications professionals from Australia and New Zealand.
The conference Mass, which took place before the awards dinner, was held at St Mary’s Cathedral with Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president and Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB presiding.
This year’s conference theme focused on the words of Pope Francis from his 2023 World Communications Day message: ‘Speaking with the Heart: The Truth in Love’ (Ephesians 4:15). In that, Pope Francis encourages Catholic media professionals to communicate with ‘open heart and arms’ and says ‘we are all called to seek and to speak the truth and to do so with charity’.
Townsville Diocese’s Neil Helmore was awarded best use of digital media for CathNews with his Australian Plenary Council video highlights. Diocese of Parramatta’s Catholic Outlook magazine won ‘most improved publication’, Melbourne Catholic won best online layout and design, while Archdiocese of Wellington’s WelCom won best layout and design (print).
The 2023 ACPA Conference and Awards were supported by gold sponsors Caritas Australia, CathNews and Catholic Education Western Australia. Silver Sponsors were Catholic Development Fund (WA), Harvest Journeys, MercyCare, Australian Catholic University, St John of God Health Care, University of Notre Dame Australia and Passione Wine.
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